A/N: Broke 100 reviews, yay! Oi vey, I'm tired. Took a spur-of-the-moment trip out to La Quinta, CA the morning after Thanksgiving, just got back last night in time to update this for everyone. It was a fun trip, went to a zoo thing out there called the Living Desert, and saw the air museum, 27 flyable aircraft from WWII, and volunteer vets from the war wandering around to chat with and gleam a better understanding of the war. Very fun.

I got no writing done though. Oh, well, that just means I have to bust ass and write today.

Thank you to the reviewers, you guys make every update worth it!

And thank you to Greg for beta-ing, you are too awesome.

Read.

XVI.

Jimmy debated for far longer than was necessary on whether he should visit Ben on watch or not. Shamefully, he'd spent the hours leading up to the time Ben had to leave for his watch hiding in various places from the other boy; spending more time than usual that day inside the community center mainly because Ben tended to avoid the building, but in the instance Ben might dare entering in search of Jimmy, Jimmy also spent a great deal of time in bathroom stalls, and tucked away in the smaller storage closets, tactics he hadn't resorted to in months.

Finally, with about an hour and a half left on Ben's watch, while sitting on the tailgate of a red Silverado pick-up truck secluded from the rest of camp, Jimmy decided he needed to grow some balls and just face the other boy.

After all, Jimmy was Ben's 'boyfriend', wasn't he?

Yeah…because there was that…which meant Jimmy needed to act like it. Whatever it meant to act like a…a…that. Okay, so Roman insinuated that Ben had been sneaking around behind Jimmy's back into the dead of night to hunt alien agents. Right. Now what was he supposed to do about that information as the…as the 'boyfriend'?

Ask Ben point blank, Jimmy determined. It seemed the most logical thing to do. Just come right out and say it: Have you been lying to me, asshole.

Jimmy furrowed his brow, frowning a little. Maybe he could word it better. 'Are you a complete and total idiot', for instance, much better opening. Of course, that was obvious, maybe redundant as well. Scratch that, he could just go with, 'asshole, asshole, asshole, you bastard'.

Going out hunting alone was one thing, but lying about it was another story entirely.

Jimmy winced, the pain of that revelation ripping into him anew. Lying to him, him – Ben's supposed 'boyfriend', what the fuck did that word even mean? For Christ's sake, how the hell was Jimmy supposed to believe anything Ben ever said to him again? Fuck, how was he supposed to believe the things that Ben had already said to him?

I care about you. That could've been a lie.

I like you, Jimmy. Maybe it was all a lie.

I would never hurt you.

Jimmy flinched inwardly and wiped away frustrated tears that stubbornly formed despite his insistence that they not. His face felt hot and his chest constricted.

That settled it; Jimmy was just going to punch Ben in the face.

Jimmy moved to slide off the tailgate and faltered, his head suddenly swimming, blackness splotching across his vision and nausea overwhelming him. He instantly lay back in the truck bed and squeezed his eyes shut, laying a hand over his eyes, an icy chill washing through him as though he'd been plunged into the ocean.

"Shit," he breathed, his entire body shaking, a cold sweat on his brow. He couldn't take much more of this, he knew. He needed to sleep, but no matter how he closed his eyes, how many sheep leapt by, he couldn't will himself to do it. And he hadn't eaten all day, the sickness in his stomach coming and going and making it hard for him to even think about food without feeling the sudden urge to vomit.

Jimmy sighed, as the blackness somewhat left his vision, though he still felt light and uneasy. He rolled the sleeve up on his arm again, examined the bruise Ben had unintentionally left behind. In the dark of night, he could barely make out the mark, but he could still feel it, his arm throbbing and shoulder sore. He frowned, his brow wrinkling as he looked at his arm and the discolored skin.

Odd, the skin around the bruising almost appeared…iridescent.

Jimmy traced his fingers across it, and grimaced at the tenderness. The skin glistened, seemingly translucent a moment. He could see through the flesh and muscles; see through to the wiry veins, the arteries and capillaries, networked throughout his body, canals, and rivers, channels colored a blue as deep and clear as his own eyes. He ran his thumb over the skin, wiped at it with the palm of his hand, as though trying to brush away the strangeness and make it solid again.

The swimming in his head was back, the blackness like inkblots spilled over his eyes. His limbs felt heavy, weak, and they dropped across his belly. His head lolled to the side, no strength to even hold it up, and then he slipped into an icy darkness.

…

When Jimmy awoke, the air was gray. Sunlight was just beginning to peek over the horizon and he guessed the time to be about four, maybe five in the morning. He checked his arm, but there was nothing remarkable about the skin there, so decided whatever he had noticed last night must have been a delusion brought on by fatigue and rolled his sleeve back down. He grimaced, attempted to sit up but failed miserably, so remained lying on the truck bed staring at the sky. He heard the crunch of footsteps headed his direction, but didn't bother acknowledging it until a body slid up next to him, briefly a warm hand lay over his forehead, and then it pulled slightly back and a cheek dropped down to replace it, a splay of blonde curls falling around him like a veil.

"Mag…" he complained, "Get off."

"Jimmy, you're really cold to the touch," the young woman noted, her voice hitched high with worry, "Have you been sleeping out here?"

"No," Jimmy lied, "I've just been sitting out here for a little while, is all."

He tried sitting again and had a bit more success, propping himself up on his elbows a moment to let the blood flow evenly through him without causing him dizziness, and then he struggled his way to a full seated position. Maggie studied him curiously, nibbling the bottom corner of her mouth as she did so.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, running his hand over his hair subconsciously to smooth it down and letting some strands fall into his face to shadow his features, "You're back."

"Yeah, we just came in a few minutes ago. I saw you laying here, thought it was weird," Maggie explained, shrugging at his quizzical expression, "I'd heard Ben's assignment was called off, figured you'd be hanging out with him…keeping warm. Not napping in the back of a truck alone, turning into a popsicle."

Jimmy flushed at the intimation and stammered excuse, "Well…that is…Ben was on watch so…and you know, for your information, we don't spend all our time together. We have other things to do, other people we want to hang out with."

"Uh-huh," Maggie replied, unconvinced. She leaned back on her palms and tipped her head to one-side, staring interestedly at Jimmy, "You two aren't fighting are you?"

Jimmy sighed, tugging his sleeves absently over his hands as he shivered from the cold. He absently chewed his inner cheek and mumbled, "No."

"Jimmy…" Maggie gently chastised.

"We're not," Jimmy insisted, meeting her calm gaze and telling her, "Everything is fine…" he dropped his eyes, smiling faintly, and flustered, admitted in a low voice, "He called me his…'boyfriend'…"

"Big day," Maggie teased, grinning broadly. Jimmy scowled somewhat, rolling his eyes and Maggie reached out to ruffle his hair fondly, "That's good. Really, Jimmy. I'm proud of you."

"Weird thing to be proud of," Jimmy noted, re-straightening his hair after Maggie pulled her hand back and dropped it to her lap. She smirked at him.

"Maybe. I am, though. You deserve it. The both of you," she told him earnestly. She tugged his sleeve slightly and said, "Come over here a minute."

"Why?" Jimmy wondered, perking a brow, but following the instruction nonetheless, sliding over closer to Maggie. She draped her arm over his shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze that warmed throughout him and caused an odd pang in his heart. He flashed momentarily on his mother, dead many months now and possibly decomposed to sun-bleached bone on his family's veranda, and subconsciously leaned into the embrace.

Maggie rubbed Jimmy's arms vigorously a moment, until feeling came back to them, and satisfied, remarked, "There. Better?"

"I guess," Jimmy grumbled answer, and he did feel better. A lot better.

Maggie released him and he hastily shifted away from her, not that she took notice, her gaze trained on the distance, watching people rising for the day and bustling around camp to do whatever needed doing. Jimmy smoothed out his shirt a moment, and glanced at Maggie a few times.

"Have you ever…had a…boyfriend?" he questioned meekly and Maggie darted a bemused look his way, smiling.

"A few, yes," she answered, a touch of laughter in her tone, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Jimmy shrugged. He glared at the ground, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest, and color flooding in his cheeks. "So…how did…what were they like? I mean…how were they…what did they…do?"

Maggie perked a brow at the question, "You taking a record of my past relationships?"

"No…I just…" Jimmy faltered. He folded his arms over his stomach and muttered, "Never mind."

Maggie smiled and said nothing, returning her gaze to the distance. Jimmy pouted at the ground, turning his words over in his head and chastising himself for sounding like an idiot. After a few moments, he slid off the tailgate.

"I should go," he announced, "I haven't eaten anything in a bit so…yeah." He started towards the community center but paused when Maggie called his name, turning back to her. She had her arms folded over the side of the truck bed, her chin resting atop them, her eyes locked on his.

"You don't need to do anything more than be yourself because, you know, it's not a fluke that he wants to be with you. He hasn't made a mistake, he knows who you are. Just…be there for him when he needs you…even if you're not entirely certain that he really does," Maggie whispered somberly.

Jimmy let her words sink in, then gave a short, stiff nod of his head and continued towards the community center. He grabbed a granola bar from the food stores, a few of the cooking crew merely glancing curiously at him as they prepped breakfast for the rest of the 2nd Mass. He took a few bites of the bar – it was all he could stomach – then pocketed the rest for later.

Outside, he took a few tokes off the cigarette he'd saved from the day before, as he wandered around the community center. He spotted the four unharnessed teenagers on the outskirts of camp, and his heart thudded against his chest. Roman paused to notice Jimmy, shoot him a smug look, before turning away. Jimmy followed Roman's gaze in time to glance Ben slipping into his tent. Jimmy finished off his cigarette and tossed it away, darting a pointedly dark glower Roman's direction, then shoving his hands in his pockets and stalking towards the tent.

When Jimmy entered through the tent flap, Ben was in the middle of changing shirts. He spun round, surprised and bare chested and Jimmy flushed, dropping his gaze. Okay, that wasn't going to be distracting.

Then Jimmy faltered, as the image before him fully processed he darted his eyes back up to Ben. The other boy was attempting to hastily pull on a shirt but paused when he realized Jimmy's staring, a deer caught in headlights. Several heartbeats thundered by and Ben lowered his face, his features somber.

"What is that?" Jimmy demanded, glaring pointedly at the bandage strapped to Ben's waist and up along his backside.

"Nothing…" Ben started.

"That's a lot of bandaging for nothing," Jimmy spat, "When the hell did this happen?"

"I…uh…" Ben fumbled for explanation and Jimmy felt his every stammered word like a bullet in the chest. Searching for an appropriate lie, it seemed, "Skitter…yesterday…on the op…I uh…had a run in and…it got me, so…"

"Right," Jimmy whispered bitterly, "Skitter. On the op."

"Yeah," Ben murmured confirmation.

Jimmy folded his arms over his stomach, twisting and turning disgustedly. He chewed his inner cheek and trailed his gaze over the ground, lingering a moment on the duffle by Ben's feet where Ben had dropped his original shirt. Jimmy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a shudder in his heart.

"Where are you just getting back from?" he quietly asked, the words like barbs in his mouth, "I thought your watch ended hours ago."

"Yeah…it did," Ben mumbled, slipping his shirt on fully and turning his back to Jimmy, kneeling to zip his duffle securely closed, "I…uh…looked for you. After I got off watch. Couldn't find you, figured you were sleeping in the center, so…I…um…slept a bit then…got up early and went for a walk."

"Oh," Jimmy mouthed, shaking his head at the ground. He couldn't help wondering where the lie was in that sentence, was it only the "walk" part, or did Ben even really bother looking for him? His heart ached, and he swallowed back a small sob in his throat, if Ben had really wanted to find him, it shouldn't have been that difficult, "I was outside…actually. In one of the trucks…the bed."

"Really?" Ben stood up again and turned slightly towards Jimmy, his brow wrinkled momentarily in concern as he wondered, "Why?" Then he smirked and Jimmy winced, a brief flush of anger heating his face when Ben teased, "Were you waiting for me?"

"No. Why the fuck would I do that?" Jimmy snapped.

Ben flinched, reeling away again and glaring at the ground. Jimmy bit his cheek hard until the gum tore and blood spilled into his mouth and still he drove his teeth into the tender flesh, digging out the pain. He thought about his earlier ruminations, all the decisions he had made about how he would handle this very confrontation: just ask him.

"Ben," Jimmy started heatedly, forcing the name out between clenched teeth and Ben tensed visibly, as if bracing himself for a harsh thrashing, and suddenly, strangely, glaring at the other boy waiting across the tent for the world to crash around him, Jimmy felt his anger giving out.

Despite the darkness of the tent, and the fact that he could barely see clear a few inches in front of his face, Jimmy could still see – or perhaps it was only in his mind's eye – those spikes along Ben's spine: jagged, horrific, yet, beautiful only because they were in him.

What'd he do to deserve you're unwavering trust, Roman had asked and for a terrible moment, Jimmy had been so caught up in the question that he had forgotten, what had he done to not?

Wasn't this the same person that only a few weeks ago had lay beside Jimmy naked and exposed, their souls spread bare in a storage closet full of sporting equipment? Jimmy had shown Ben the darkest parts of his heart, the blood that stained his hands, and Ben could've shoved Jimmy away, reviled him the way a normal person should, but Ben hadn't hesitated even for a second to kiss Jimmy in that moment, to tell Jimmy – to vow – that he would make the world a better place, if only for them and them alone.

For Ben, there was no choice about who could see the darkness in him; hell, it was drilled into his spinal column and protruding from his flesh for every prying eye to see but Jimmy had a choice to push Ben away, to revile him for it, and every day, every moment of every day, Jimmy knew Ben prepared for Jimmy to decide he couldn't stand the darkness anymore.

Be there for him, Maggie had advised. That was Jimmy's role now, wasn't it? To support Ben. It was all the other boy had asked the day before, for support. And though Jimmy's arm throbbed, as if trying to remind him that there were darker things, Jimmy pushed the pain from his mind and resigned himself to the somber aching in his body.

"…how was watch?" Jimmy concluded, murmuring question. The squeeze in his chest tightened as Ben relaxed, his muscles loosening and he released his bated breath. Ben turned to Jimmy, smiled though it didn't quite reach his eyes, and Jimmy vaguely smiled in return.

"It was alright," Ben answered silently, and then with a distant grin, he rolled his eyes and said, "Val has an Aunt Dorie. She's dead. Not from the invasion, of course."

"Of course," Jimmy whispered. He was struggling to breathe again, to slide back into the familiar exchange, to get back to the place where he felt comfortable conversing easily with the other boy.

Ben had lied to Jimmy, true, and he had been lying for who knew how long. But the lies were small, and Jimmy knew what the lies were covering. Wasn't that enough? That he know the truth, even if not from Ben's lips? Knowing the truth was all that really mattered, so for now, Jimmy would let Ben have his lies. They seemed important to Ben.

So why did Jimmy feel like he was being torn in two?

"She had cancer," Ben continued, absently running his hand across the back of his neck, careful of the spikes there, "And a lot of wigs, apparently."

Jimmy nodded, eyes wandering around the tent floor, barely registering the words. He didn't notice when Ben crossed the tent towards him, looking up when the other boy's hand ghosted his shoulder, to meet concern shivering in clouded doe eyes.

"You okay?" Ben questioned, an obvious fear underlining his features.

"Yeah, why?" Jimmy whispered return.

"Because this is usually where you add some sarcastic comment about how Valerie never shuts up," Ben noted, dropping his eyes to their feet and shoving his hands in his pockets. Jimmy hesitated, heart thundering and stomach flipping inside out, he reached a hand forward to furl in Ben's shirt front, leaning into him and pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"I'm just tired," Jimmy replied. It was a partial lie, but what did it matter. What was one more lie between them?

"How's your arm?" Ben wondered, a small, almost imperceptible quake of shame in the words. He twitched, as though to reach for the aforementioned appendage, but halted, and shoved his wayward hand in his pocket instead. Ben's reluctance stung, almost as much as the remaining injury of his earlier, unintended violence.

"I told you before, it's fine," Jimmy muttered, another lie like another penny in the well of wishes for better tomorrows. His arm hurt unbearably, he was certain it was bruised to the bone. He placed another kiss on Ben's lips and whispered, "What'd you think I'm made of? Glass? You didn't even leave a mark, asshole. Stop worrying about it."

And maybe this was what it really meant to care for someone, to be their significant other. To exchange lies with them, out of support, out of a desire to protect, to make the other happy. His mother had always done it, one little lie after another to his father, and he'd never understood it until that moment. Hell, he used to hate it, why wouldn't she just tell the old man the truth; it would certainly have made him happier. But it made them, his mother and father, happy together.

The lies between them.

Ben wrapped an arm round Jimmy's waist and dragged him into a more passionate kiss. It almost felt as though Ben were trying to say something with that kiss but Jimmy couldn't grasp its meaning, all he knew was that it broke his already crumbling resolve.

"Did you want to lie down?" Ben questioned gently and Jimmy perked a brow.

"Not even ten minutes, you perv…" Jimmy growled and Ben gaped, paling slightly and loosening his hold on Jimmy.

"That's not what I meant," Ben stammered excuse, his cheeks coloring, "You said you were tired."

Jimmy sighed, shaking his head and then sinking against Ben. He wrapped his arms up around Ben's shoulders and buried his face in the crook of Ben's neck, breathing in that scent of citrus and pine, reveling in the warmth and closeness and letting it soothe away all his sorrows and insecurities. How had he let himself, for even one moment, doubt this person? This was Ben. Ben, who he trusted explicitly with his heart, his body, his soul. Ben, who would never, never, hurt him.

At least, not intentionally, anyway.

"You're in a weird mood," Ben softly noted.

Jimmy flushed, hastily stumbling away and shoving his hands in pockets. Yeah, this was Ben, the dork who could ruin any moment in ten words or less.

"Sorry…I was just…" Jimmy fumbled for an explanation, found none, so fell silent and glared at the ground, muttering grumpily, "Shut the hell up."

"And you're back to normal," Ben mumbled teasingly. He netted a hand behind Jimmy's neck, dragging him into another kiss and admitting, "I like when you're being weird. Of course…" he pressed another kiss to Jimmy's mouth, and another, dotting them between words in that sumptuous way he always did when he wanted to infuriate Jimmy with the disgustingly sweet sentimentality of the moment, "I also like…when you're being…normal…or maybe I just…" he parted their lips and dove his tongue in, pulling Jimmy close and drawing out a whimpered moan, then relaxed against Jimmy's mouth and murmured, "…like you."

"Shit…Ben…I got to go," Jimmy choked out, desperate for air, even as his hands slipped beneath Ben's shirt, searching out the warm, tender feel of bare flesh, and he moved his head aside, allowing Ben's mouth access to his throat and collar. His head was too hot to form rational thoughts.

"Hell you do," Ben growled against Jimmy's neck, guiding the not-very-resistant boy further into the tent.

Jimmy twirled his fingers around those numerous spikes along Ben's spine. There was a sensual aspect to them that Ben had never verified in so many words, but his reaction to their being touched was obvious, it increased the fervor of his affections, heightened his arousal and Jimmy, in his own way, liked the feel of those horrid metal obtrusions almost as much. It was a cold, jarring reminder that he was the only one that could get so close to that part of Ben.

Ben slid his arms under Jimmy's shirt and started to remove it but Jimmy struggled against the action, shaking his head in a firm protest and the rejection scrawled across Ben's face a confused heartache.

"…have to be quick…" Jimmy hastily explained, kissing Ben almost apologetically as he dragged the other boy's hands out from under his shirt and down towards his hardening erection.

Ben worked at the trouser buttons and Jimmy momentarily wrapped his arms around Ben's neck, burying his face against warm, musky skin that made his heart flutter and breath labored, to hide the troubles that wrinkled his own brow. Jimmy couldn't let Ben see that black mark he'd inadvertently left behind, Ben struggled enough with the 2nd Mass's and his own qualms of what that harness had done to him without that visual confirmation that, yes, he most certainly was someone to be feared.

Jimmy slid his hands down along Ben's front to work at Ben's own trouser buttons and zipper, while pressing a firm kiss to Ben's mouth, slipping his tongue in to gently explore and tease every inch of that bittersweet orifice, dragging out the most erotic noises from the other boy. Ben managed to undo the buttons on Jimmy's trousers and was working at the zipper while Jimmy still struggled to prioritize between kissing and undressing.

"Oops."

Instantly, Ben and Jimmy broke apart; gasping for air and attempting, failing, to look innocent about it. Jimmy only glanced the small boy standing, gaping, at the tent entrance, before spinning around to quickly hide his arousal and the fact his trousers weren't entirely done up and his face was bright red, and for crying out loud, didn't anyone ever knock these days. Sure, the tent had no door but that was no excuse. There had to be a better way to announce your presence than a fucking "oops".

"Shit, Matt, what have I told you about just walking in here?" Ben roared, clearly sharing Jimmy's illogical thought pattern about knocking on door-less tents. Matt baulked at the force in his brother's words, taking a small step backwards and cowering slightly near the tent entrance.

"I didn't know," Matt attempted, darting glances between the older boys, "You weren't here…before…so…"

"Well I'm here now," Ben snapped.

"I should go," Jimmy whispered, having redone his trouser buttons and straightened himself. His cheeks were still flushed, he could feel the warmth in them, but the cool air outside and distance from this incredibly mortifying incident would take care of that.

"Wait, Jimmy…" Ben protested, "I need to talk to you about…"

"Later," Jimmy promised, starting for the tent flap. Matt was chewing his bottom lip, a book clutched in his arms, obviously borrowed from his brother's stash. There was an anger growing in his features and Jimmy paused a moment at that startlingly hard lined young face.

"This is all of our tent, Ben, not just yours," Matt complained, "And if I tell Hal Jimmy was here and what you two were doing, you'll be in so much trouble."

Jimmy blanched, air knocked clean from his lungs and slamming hard into his teeth. Forget leaving, there was no amount of distance that was going to cool his head now, and more importantly, he sensed he might suddenly need to keep Ben from murdering his little brother.

"Go ahead and tell Hal, you really think I care," Ben growled response.

Jimmy drew his breath in deep, let it out in a trembling, stirring rage; or he might need to murder Ben.

"Matt," Jimmy started sharply and the little boy flinched, darting a frightened, deer-in-headlights look up at the other boy.

"You're not my brother, you can't yell at me," Matt quickly, quietly informed Jimmy.

"I'm not going to yell," Jimmy replied, glancing down at the boy, "Just wanted to say, you're right. Ben can't be mad at you because I and he never should have been in the tent doing…what we were doing."

"What?" Ben cried, then protested, "Jimmy…"

"Shut up, Ben," Jimmy grumbled, and then turning his attention back to a dubious looking Matt, he said earnestly, "This tent belongs to you and your brothers and you should be able to come and go as you please. There's no reason to bring Hal into this, because Ben's going to apologize."

"The hell I am," Ben hissed. Jimmy shot him a look of warning and he winced, lowering his eyes and appearing somewhat abashed.

"You are going to apologize," Jimmy steadily informed Ben, a glint of threat in his eye, "And then you're going to go hang out with your little brother because you have free time right now and because eventually you're going to want to spend free time with me and, I don't know…I might not be available..."

Matt folded his arms over his chest and smirked at Ben, appearing very much like the cat that caught the bird. It seemed he had figured out with ease what exactly was at stake for his brother.

"Well, Ben?" Matt prompted smugly.

Ben glared heatedly at Jimmy as he stiffly mumbled response, "Sorry I yelled at you, Matt. Why don't we go do something?"

"We could play chess," Matt suggested cheerfully.

"Okay, cool. You guys go play chess. I seriously have to go," Jimmy said, starting away, "We'll talk later, Ben."

"Fine," Ben muttered. He seemed more put-out about the prospect of spending a few hours with his younger brother than Jimmy thought he ought to be, and for a moment, Jimmy felt a pang of guilt at having manipulated the other boy like that, but realized, once upon a time ago he would've felt the same in such a situation, and with a hollow ache in his chest, he knew that deep down, whether aware or not, Ben appreciated it.

Jimmy pushed the tent flap open and started to exit.

"Aren't you going to kiss Ben good-bye?" Matt piped question, and both older boys froze, giving him twin bewildered expressions. Matt glanced nonchalant between them, noting, "Our mom and dad always kissed each other good-bye. It's what you're supposed to do."

Ben and Jimmy exchanged a look, flustered, hearts pounding. Matt watched them expectantly. His eyes on them like a scalding hot iron branding them with his own childish view of intimacy. It seared Jimmy, licked like fire in his veins and chest, smothering him and making it hard to breath.

Mom and dad…Matt had said, is that what he compared Ben and Jimmy to, as if they were playing house.

And what were they playing? Jimmy scoffed, 'boyfriend', he still didn't know what it meant. Ben took a step towards him, as though advancing for that obligatory kiss and hastily Jimmy spun on heel, slipping from the tent without another word or thought to how his reaction might have stung the other boy.

.

.

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A/N: Right, so there we have the reason why Jimmy never made it out to visit Ben on watch and hence, why last chapter was mainly Valerie rambling on and on about her dead aunt. Also, Jimmy reacts to the "lying" and...yeah...maybe not exactly what anyone expected. I didn't really like the ending paragraphs of this, the odd contemplation about Matt's "mom and dad" comment, mainly this chapter was meant to illustrate that Jimmy really has no fucking clue what he's doing.

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed. Please review, let me know what you think!

Reviewers: SassySavanna190, I'm glad I'm not the only one Val makes laugh. Yes, Roman is...something. And Karen...you know, I'm a little biased on that because I actually like the actress that plays here, Jesse Schram, and I didn't really see many of the episodes where she got really creepy, but I do love Maggie a lot. JDMlvr1, hehe, that sounds like quite a video. Yeah, poor Valerie is trying very hard to flirt and poor Ben is trying very hard to ignore it and not have to directly reject her. IcicleLilly, last chapter was mainly meant as food for thought. Sorry you didn't enjoy the Valerie rambling though, maybe you enjoyed this chapter more? :) Cookie97, it's not bad, she makes me laugh too. Jimmy should see that Ben is lost, but he doesn't, and Ben isn't exactly in a rush to tell him. It is all very sad. Checkout Metrics (Checkyourmetrics?), thank you! Nine hours of trig? Criminy! Glad my story could help ease the pain. You know, people are going to think I'm sick for saying this, but I actually love math. Not because I'm good at it by any means, just because, you really have to appreciate the intrinsic beauty of it all. Anyhow, there was a bit of Ben/Jimmy romance in this chapter, but there's a lot planned in later chapters of course, so don't worry. WhisperMaw, two reviews two chapters in a row! This was a good weekend. You know, it is a lot worse when the guy likes another girl. At least when the problem is that he likes a guy, you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that it really is him and not you. But when it's another girl, you can doubt yourself with the horrifying thought of, "What's so wrong with me?", answer is usually absolutely nothing. Fun advice for the future: guys are not actually as picky as everyone likes to think. One of the boys slip up with a girl...hm...not completely far-fetched. Anything can happen in a sci-fi story. And the "killed your dog" line, I wrote it, realized what I wrote, then left it in for you, 'cause I knew you'd get a kick out of it. My Thanksgiving was awesome, thank you! I hope yours was as well! Haley, missed you last chapter. Yes, Val is a character. Roman is one of your faves? Aww...I'm glad to hear it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much as last, if not more!

Right, see you all Thursday! I have to go smog my car...